Gore flies in all directions as combatants are popped like meat balloons by the vicious weaponry of the '60s. Limbs shatter disgustingly as bullets rip apart flesh and bone. 'The campaign puts players neck deep in the close-up brutality of combat. Say what you like about No Russian - at least it was something different.'Īt GameInformer, Adam Biessener seems inclined to agree with Eurogamer's judgement of polish over pioneering, calling Black Ops 'the best game Treyarch has made' but also saying that it feels more like 'Modern Warfare 2.5' than a standalone game in its own right.īiessener seems uncomfortable with Black Ops interpretation of what makes a game 'mature', however, and questions the necessity of the levels of violence involved. 'The results are never less than entertaining whatever you choose to do, then, but not exactly brave and bold either.

The campaign is relentlessly aggressive and spectacular – a Jerry Bruckheimer tribute act stuck in permanent encore – while the multiplayer modes are a mixture of smart tweaks to working formulas. 'Call of Duty has long since settled into an enormously successful rhythm, and the good news for Activision is that Black Ops does little to disrupt it. 'We may be deep behind enemy lines, but the scriptwriters do their best to leave no cliché behind as we leap from moving trucks to speeding trains, float down jungle rivers listening to the Stones and stealthily infiltrate mountainside communication outposts,' writes Bramwell.Īs he settles on an 8/10 for his score, Eurogamer's editor makes clear that Black Ops is a polished, well presented and enjoyable game, but falls short on new ideas for a somewhat rigid genre. There, editor Tom Bramwell takes on the review personally, praising the scope and spectacle of the 'slick and spectacular' Black Ops whilst arguing that perhaps it could have done a little more in terms of the innovation which the series has become famous for. We'll begin with the perennial presence in all of these round-ups, from our sister site Eurogamer.

Here, we take a look at some of the comments from the most influential opinion formers online, both from specialist and mainstream press, to see how their thoughts pan out. So far, reviews have been almost wholly positive, with some wavering as to whether Treyarch's first post-Infinity Ward meltdown title is a Modern Warfare beater or not. For all of the weight of that hype machine, however, critical reception remains paramount for a game even of CoD's historical pedigree. The release of any Call of Duty title is huge business, and with Black Ops Activision has been supported by an incredible number of PR mechanisms and midnight openings.

Critical ops ranking system